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Secondary  Education 
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RAYMOND    McFARLAND 

Professor  of  Secondary  Education 


MIDDLEBURY,    VERMONT 
MAY,    1912 


A  Study  of 
Secondary  Education  in  Vermont 


By 

Raymond    McFarland 
Professor  of  Secondary  Education 


PREFACE. 

By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1908  a  Depart- 
ment of  Pedagogy  was  established  at  Middlebury  College 
for  better  professional  training  of  teachers  for  secondary 
school  work.  The  college  soon  came  to  recognize  the  nec- 
essity of  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  conditions  in  the 
high  schools  and  academies  of  Vermont,  their  special  needs 
and  problems,  in  order  to  a  clearer  understanding  of  its 
mission  in  helping  these  schools  to  be  more  efficient  means 
in  serving  their  constituents.  To  secure  this  information, 
Raymond  McFarland,  Professor  of  Secondary  Education, 
was  directed  to  visit  the  secondary  schools  of  the  State,  or 
as  many  of  them  as  could  be  reached  during  the  first  half  of 
the  school  year  of  1911-12.  He  was  received  in  a  most 
courteous  and  kindly  manner,  both  by  superintendents, 
principals,  and  teachers,  and  accorded  every  facility  for  his 
examinations,  for  which  both  he  and  the  College  desire  to 
to  express  earnest  gratitude.  Study  of  his  report  will  show 
that  his  investigatjoris  were  conducted  in  a  thorough  and 
impartial  manner^  '.with,  thie*  stfle  jbbject  of  acquiring  facts 
which  may  be*jQund.-u§efuL  jn  improving  educational  con- 
ditions in  the  Sta'teV* "  Progress  .rmis.f  be  based  upon  facts, 
and  as  a  contribution  to  the  knowledge  of  conditions  in 
Vermont  education  this  report  is  sent  out  to  the  friends  of 
Vermont  schools.  While  the  report  is  in  many  respects 
encouraging,  it  also  suggests  the  need  of  advance  in  several 
directions,  and  the  facts  contained  in  it  have  already  proved 
of  service  in  the  Middlebury  College  Department  of  Peda- 
gogy- 

JOHN  M.  THOMAS. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT. 


EXTENT  OF  INQUIRY. 

The  results  set  forth  in  this  paper  were  secured  through 
a  visitation  to  the  schools  of  secondary  grade  in  Vermont, 
covering  a  period  of  four  months  from  the  first  of  October, 
1911,  to  the  first  of  February,  1912.  During  the  time,  54 
high  schools,  16  academies,  2  normal  schools,  the  Indus- 
trial School  and  the  State  Agricultural  School  were  visited. 
The  total  number  of  schools  visited  represents  88  per  cent 
of  the  teaching  staff  and  77  per  cent  of  the  secondary  school 
system  of  the  state.  Observations  were  made  of  the  class- 
room work  of  209  teachers  in  296  recitations. 

METHOD  OF  INQUIRY. 

The  method  of  procedure  in  the  field  work  was  to  send 
to  the  principal  of  the  school  an  announcement  of  the  intend- 
ed visit  usually  three  or  four  days  before  the  visit  was  made. 
At  the  school,  interviews  were  held  with  the  principal  and, 
when  possible,  with  the  superintendent  and  teachers,  and 
an  inspection  of  conditions  and  observation  of  methods 
were  made  in  the  following  particulars : 

/.     Physical  Conditions:* 

(a)  building,  (b)  grounds,  (c)  heating,  (d) 
lighting,  (e)  sanitation,  (f)  janitor  work,  (g) 
ventilation. 


*This  form  follows  very   closely  that   used   by  the   Inspector  of  High 
Schools,  State  of  Maine. 


(4  •>  o 


MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

//.     Equipment: 

(a)  Library, — 

(1)  number  of  books,  value,  (2)  accessibility, 
(3)  encyclopedias  and  dictionaries,  (4)  scien- 
tific reference  works,  ( 5 )  reference  works  in 
history  and  literature,  (6)  deficiencies. 

(b)  Laboratory, — 

(1)  general  arrangement  of  the  room,  (2)  phy- 
sics,— value  of  apparatus,  condition,  storage, 
(3)  chemistry,  value  of  apparatus,  condition, 
storage,  (4)  other  science  equipment. 

///.      Teaching  Staff: 

(a)  Name  of  teacher,  (b)   amount  of  education, 

(c)  experience  in  teaching,  (d)  professional  train- 
ing, (e)  subjects  taught,  (f)  salary. 

IV.     Recitations  Observed. 

(a)  teacher,  (b)  subject,  (c)    number  of  pupils, 

(d)  preparation  of  class,  (e)  preparation  of  teach- 
er, (f)  methods  of  instruction,  (g)  comments. 

V.     Organization. 

(a)  admission,  (b)  special  students,  (c)  'double' 
classes,  (d)  faculty  organization, —  (1)  depart- 
ments, (2)  professional  work,  (3)  supervision  by 
principal. 

VI.  Attendance. 

(a)  enrollment:  boys,  girls,  total. 

(b)  regularity  of  attendance,  (c)  tardiness. 

VII.  Courses  of  Study: 

(a)  name  and  number,  (b)  program  of  study. 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  5 

VIII.     Miscellaneous: 

(a)  working  spirit  of  school,  (b)  management, 
(c)  discipline,  (d)  spirit  of  community,  (e)  de- 
ficiencies in  preparation  of  the  entering  class. 

GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS. 

The  grounds  and  sites  of  the  schools  of  Vermont  are 
on  the  whole  satisfactory.  Only  about  10  per  cent  may  be 
classed  as  poor;  about  two  out  of  every  three  schools  are 
located  on  desirable  sites  with  large  grounds,  which  are 
usually  free  enough  from  trees  and  adjoining  buildings  to 
allow  plenty  of  light  to  reach  the  school  building  and  yard. 
Not  enough  care  is  taken  in  decorating  the  school  grounds. 
In  larger  cities  it  is  better  to  use  the  school  yards  as  open- 
air  play  grounds,  but  in  our  communities,  generally,  there 
is  plenty  of  space  to  beautify  the  grounds  with  shrubs  and 
flowers  and  still  leave  room  for  children  to  play  and  ex- 
ercise. 

The  academies  have  an  advantage  over  the  high 
schools  in  having  their  buildings  free  from  grade  pupils.  It 
is  rare  to  find  an  academy  in  which  the  high  school  and 
•  grade  pupils  occupy  the  same  building,  while  among  the 
high  schools  proper  more  than  80  per  cent  of  them  have 
grades  in  the  same  building.  This  is  an  unfortunate  con- 
dition both  for  physical  and  moral  reasons,  as  well  as  for 
class-room  efficiency.  Grade  pupils  should  not  be  closely 
associated  with  larger  and  more  advanced  pupils.  The 
programs  of  study,  recitation  and  recess  are  not  the  same 
for  the  two  classes  of  pupils;  consequently,  there  are  fre- 
quent interruptions  during  the  progress  of  class-room  work 
by  the  passing  of  pupils  through  the  hallways  and  the  noise 
incident  to  frequent  recesses. 


6  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

LIGHTING. 

While  two-thirds  of  the  schools  have  satisfactory 
grounds,  also  two-thirds  of  the  buildings  are  poorly  sup- 
plied with  light  through  inadequate  window  space.  Teach- 
ers do  not  realize  their  responsibility  in  maintaining  the  best 
possible  conditions  for  lighting  and  ventilating  rooms.  Too 
often  the  shades  are  left  where  they  happen  to  be,  with  no 
consideration  for  the  bright  or  dull  day.  Usually  two- 
thirds  of  the  light  comes  through  the  upper  half  of  the 
window.  Many  cases  of  severe  eye  strain  could  be  avoid- 
ed by  raising  the  shades  to  the  top  of  the  windows,  or, 
what  is  better,  by  having  shades  that  may  be  adjusted  from 
the  middle  of  the  window. 

There  is  urgent  need  of  reform  in  school  hygiene. 
The  trend  in  life  today  is  aseptic  instead  of  antiseptic;  that 
is,  effort  is  expended  in  preventing  bad  conditions  rather 
than  in  remedying  them.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  school  prin- 
cipal to  have  his  teachers  attend  carefully  to  the  lighting 
and  ventilation  of  the  school  rooms  in  so  far  as  it  lies  in 
their  power. 

SANITATION  AND  JANITOR  WORK. 

A  good  janitor  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  build- 
ings. There  are  many  sweepers,  cleaners  and  dust  distur- 
bers, but  less  than  a  dozen  first-class  janitors  in  the  state. 
Consequently  unsanitary  conditions  were  found  in  about 
two  out  of  every  three  buildings  that  were  visited.  In 
some  cases  conditions  exist  that  would  justify  the  closing  of 
school  until  the  sanitation  was  made  satisfactory.  In  two 
instances  at  least  schools  were  conducted  in  buildings  which, 
I  was  informed,  had  been  condemned  by  the  State  Board  of 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  7 

Health.  An  abundance  of  dust  in  the  air  of  school  rooms 
is  a  constant  menace  to  teachers  and  pupils.  In  too  many 
instances  the  sweeping  of  floors  is  done  in  the  morning  be- 
fore school  opens  or  during  the  noon  recess. 

At  Morrisville  the  evil  effects  of  dust  have  been  re- 
duced to  a  minimum  by  the  installation  of  a  vacuum  cleaner 
plant  in  the  high  school  building  at  a  cost  of  about  $600. 
The  plant  is  connected  by  under-ground  tubes  with  an  ad- 
joining grade  building.  The  janitor  removes  dust  and  dirt 
from  floors  and  chalk  rails  after  the  close  of  school  as  quick- 
ly as  by  the  old  method  of  sweeping  and  in  a  much  more 
sanitary  manner. 

VENTILATION. 

Probably  no  phase  of  the  physical  side  of  school  hy- 
giene is  so  important  to  sound  health  and  clean  thinking  as 
adequate  ventilation.  Yet  this  subject  receives  inadequate 
attention  in  the  administration  of  our  high  schools.  The 
fault  lies  partly  in  the  lack  of  proper  facilities  for  ventilation 
and  partly  in  the  ignorance  of  teachers  in  the  subject  of 
school  hygiene.  In  the  state  there  are  perhaps  seven  high 
schools  in  which  the  facilities  for  ventilation  may  be  con- 
sidered excellent.  One-third  of  the  total  number  of  the 
schools  may  be  put  in  the  class  of  "excellent  and  good" 
ventilation.  There  are  more  schools  in  which  the  ventila- 
tion is  very  poor  than  very  good.  Two-thirds  of  the 
schools  may  be  rated  as  below  the  standard  required  for 
satisfactory  ventilation. 

According  to  certain  authorities  in  matters  of  vital 
economy,  "the  effect  of  the  vitiated  air  of  un ventilated 
schoolrooms  is  to  reduce  the  work  of  teachers  and  scholars 
to  at  least  75  per  cent  of  that  easily  and  regularly  done  in 


MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

well-ventilated  rooms.''*  According  to  this  estimate,  the 
poor  ventilation  of  schoolhouses  and  rooms  in  the  second- 
ary schools  of  the  state  would  cause  a  falling  off  in  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  school  system  to  83  1-3  per  cent  of  what  the 
schools  could  and  should  do  under  the  best  conditions  of 
ventilation.  A  few  instances  may  serve  to  show  some  of 
the  extreme  types  of  poor  ventilation. 

CASE  1.  In  a  good  school  building  the  system  of  ven- 
tilation is  by  warm  air  which  starts  at  the  furnace,  passes 
through  the  several  rooms  on  two  floors  and  returns  again 
to  the  furnace  through  vents  placed  in  the  first  floor.  By 
this  process,  the  vitiated  air  is  returned  to  the  furnace,  re- 
heated and  sent  forth  on  its  round  of  the  rooms  of  the 
building.  This  circulatory  system  of  vitiated  air  is  kept  up 
all  day  long.  Little  use  is  made  of  a  fresh-air  flue  from  the 
outside  because  the  janitor,  school  directors  and  public  in 
that  town  believe  that  buildings  cannot  be  heated  when  air 
is  taken  directly  from  out-of-doors. 

CASE  2.  In  an  assembly  room,  40  feet  square  by  11 
feet  high,  considerably  more  than  100  pupils  have  their 
seats.  The  ventilating  facilities  for  this  room  are  two  flues 
in  the  chimney  at  the  back  of  the  room,  12x18  inches  in  size. 
The  ventilation  of  this  room  was  the  very  worst  that  I 
found  in  the  state.  Yet  my  attention  was  called  to  this 
provision  for  ventilation,  which  had  been  recently  installed, 
as  affording  great  relief  from  former  conditions. 

CASE  3.  Another  assembly  room  which  seats  90  pupils 
has  cubic  contents  so  inadequate  that  there  should  be  a  re- 
newal of  air  every  five  minutes  in  the  room.  The  only 


* Woodbridge :   Air  and  the  School  House,  p.  29. 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  9 

provision  for  ventilation  here  is  one  chimney-flue  less  than 
two  square  feet  in  area. 

CASE  4.  Forty-one  pupils  were  confined  in  a  room  25 
feet  square  and  9  feet  high  for  a  period  of  forty  minutes  with 
absolutely  no  provision  made  for  ventilating  the  room  and 
neither  doors  nor  windows  thrown  open.  Here  the  air 
should  have  been  changed  once  in  every  4  1-3  minutes, 
and  by  the  time  the  recitation  was  ended  it  was  dead-air  9 
times. 

One's  duty  ought  not  to  cease  with  a  mere  recital  of 
conditions  as  they  are  found.  Time  and  again  there  was 
impressed  upon  me  the  helplessness  of  my  own  position  as 
representative  of  an  educational  institution  with  no  author- 
ity to  suggest,  to  act  or  to  restrain.  There  is  need  of  an 
authorized  state  official  with  knowledge  of  what  constitutes 
good  hygiene  in  schools,  and  power  to  act  in  every  case  of 
unsatisfactory  hygienic  conditions.  The  State  Board  of 
Health  has  accomplished  much  in  recent  years  in  bettering 
living  conditions  in  schoolhouses  and  schoolrooms,  in  pro- 
viding adequate  fire  protection  in  buildings,  and  establish- 
ing tests  for  impaired  eyesight  and  hearing.  Much  more 
needs  to  be  done.  Too  often  the  need  for  improvement  is 
measured  by  its  cost  in  dollars  and  cents.  There  are  few 
cases  where  economy  in  money  affairs  should  outweigh 
economy  in  vital  power.  The  state  compels  attendance  at 
school  under  certain  ages.  It  ought  therefore  to  provide 
adequately  for  the  conservation  of  vital  power  in  the  case 
of  every  pupil  who  comes  under  its  jurisdiction. 

Disregarding  wholly  the  health  of  the  pupils,  which  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  but  which  cannot  be  expressed  in 
figures,  it  can  be  shown  how  uneconomic  are  present  con- 


10  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

ditions  among  the  secondary  schools  of  the  state.  As 
shown  above,  the  loss  to  the  state  in  efficiency  of  teacher 
and  pupil  through  inadequate  ventilation  is  16  2-3  per  cent.* 
In  1910  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  secondary  schools  of 
the  state  was  $200,154.97.  Of  this  total,  the  amount  that 
is  rendered  unproductive  through  unsatisfactory  ventilation 
is  $33, 359. 16 — enough  to  keep  a  dozen  trained  experts  in 
the  field  yearly  inspecting  and  correcting  conditions. 

Over  in  the  Connecticut  valley  the  farmers  told  me 
that  milk  inspectors  from  Massachusetts  visit  their  stables 
and  insist  that  there  be  proper  ventilation  for  the  cattle,  if 
the  milk  is  to  be  shipped  to  Boston.  How  strange  it  is 
that  the  children  of  Vermont  in  many  places  are  not  pro- 
vided with  as  good  facilities  for  ventilation  as  may  be  found 
in  our  best  stables,  or  that  there  is  no  state  official  to  report 
the  poor  condition  and  arouse  the  community  to  action. 

LIBRARIES. 

A  well  equipped  library  is  equally  important  for  the 
large  school  and  the  small  one.  It  should  contain  diction- 
aries, encyclopedias,  atlases  and  general  reference  works, 
biographies,  masterpieces  of  the  world's  best  literature, 
books  of  story,  travel  and  exploration,  books  relating  to 
different  subjects  taught, — especially  history,  literature  and 
the  sciences, — and  professional  books  for  the  teacher.  Of 
equal  importance  is  the  accessibility  of  the  school  library  to 
the  students  of  the  school  during  school  hours  and  for  a 
short  time  after  the  school  session  is  over  for  the  day.  The 

*Authorities  in  school  hygiene  believe  that  the  evil  effects  of  poor  ventila- 
tion on  pupils  and  teachers  have  been  greatly  underestimated.  Professor 
Moore  of  Yale  is  of  the  opinion  that  efficiency  in  the  school  room  is  reduced 
75  per  cent  by  this  means. 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  11 

secondary  schools  of  the  state  show  marked  differences  in 
their  library  equipment.  Many  are  without  books  except 
the  texts  in  use.  Several  of  the  academies  have  librar- 
ies of  several  thousand  volumes  each,  but  examination 
shows  that  many  of  these  are  in  the  nature  of  reports  or 
books  that  have  long  outlived  their  usefulness.  In  some 
schools  there  are  fairly  representative  collections,  but  their 
inaccessibility  greatly  decreases  their  practical  value.  A  few 
schools  have  rooms  specially  for  reading  and  reference,  as  at 
Barton,  Bradford,  Burlington,  Brigham  Academy,  Goddard 
Seminary,  and  Poultney.  The  policy  at  Brattleboro  is  to 
purchase  books  as  the  needs  of  the  different  departments 
require.  At  Vermont  Academy  the  library  is  housed  in  a 
building  by  itself. 

It  is  an  unusual  occurence  to  find  a  school  library  that 
has  in  its  list  of  books  a  proper  balance  between  general 
reference  works,  references  in  history,  literature  and  the 
sciences,  and  professional  works  for  the  teacher.  No  stand- 
ards are  set  by  this  state  and,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  goes, 
no  suggested  lists  of  books  are  sent  to  the  secondary 
schools.  A  redeeming  feature  in  the  situation  in  many 
communities  is  the  local  library  and  librarian.  Here  one 
finds  very  often  a  valuable  library  annex  to  the  high 
schools — attractive  rooms,  well  selected  books  and  capable 
librarians. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  how  many  volumes  are  in 
the  school  libraries  of  the  state.  In  the  report  of  the  state 
superintendent  of  education  for  1910  the  number  of 
volumes  in  high  school  libraries  is  19,596  and  in  academy 
libraries  21,910,  making  a  total  of  41,506.*  The  average 

*The  number  given  in  the  report  is  44,606  volumes,   which  is  evidently 


12  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

high  school  library,  then,  has  355  volumes  and  the  academ- 
ies have  1217  volumes  each.  Not  only  are  the  academies 
better  equipped  so  far  as  the  number  of  books  is  concerned, 
but  usually  they  provide  greater  accessibility  to  the  books. 
However,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  difference  in 
number  of  volumes  is  not  a  real  measure  of  a  school's 
library.  The  500  volumes  at  Brattleboro,  probably,  are 
more  serviceable  than  the  libraries  in  some  schools  that  list 
several  thousand  volumes. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  there  is  a  direct  relation 
between  school  efficiency  and  school  libraries.  This  rela- 
tion doubtless  is  a  true  one  as  between  schools  with  good 
library  equipment  and  those  having  little  or  none.  The 
six  best  academies  in  the  state  have  an  average  of  2400 
volumes  in  their  libraries,  the  13  best  high  schools  average 
960  volumes  each,  and  the  13  poorest  high  schools  rated 
as  first-class  according  to  the  classification  now  in  force, 
none  of  which,  however,  is  a  first-class  high  school  as  pro- 
gressive educators  understand  the  term,  average  99  vol- 
umes; 3  of  the  latter  have  no  books,  3  have  40  each,  and 
3  others  have  less  than  75  volumes.  There  is  something 
vitally  wrong  in  a  system  of  education  that  lists  schools 
having  no  books  in  their  libraries  whatever,  in  the  same 
class  with  schools  that  possess  library  advantages  such  as  are 
found  at  Bradford,  Burlington,  Saxtons  River  and  many 
other  places.  In  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  one  condi- 
tion for  approval  as  a  high  school  of  the  first  or  second-class 
is  the  possession  of  a  historical  library  which  contains  a  list 
of  fifteen  standard  reference  works,  or  their  equivalent,  in 
Ancient  History,  24  works  in  Mediaeval  and  Modern  His- 
tory, 21  works  in  English  History,  and  21  works  in  Ameri- 


. 


•       Y  I 

J 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  13 

can  History.  These  works  are  required,  not  suggested, 
for  schools  which  are  to  offer  courses  in  History.  It  is 
not  necessary  for  the  works  to  be  in  the  school  library  pro- 
vided they  are  in  the  local  public  library  and  readily  avail- 
able for  the  use  of  pupils. 

LABORATORIES. 

While  educators  recognize  the  need  of  suitable  library 
equipment  in  the  modern  high  school,  they  also  emphasize 
the  superior  importance  of  science  teaching  and  laboratory 
work.  The  condition  of  the  laboratories  and,  consequent- 
ly, the  means  for  doing  adequate  science  teaching  in  the 
secondary  schools  of  Vermont  is  even  more  deplorable  than 
that  of  the  libraries.  According  to  the  last  report  of  the 
state  superintendent  of  education  there  are  24  high  schools 
equipped  with  both  physical  and  chemical  laboratories  and 
1 1  academies  with  the  same  kind  of  equipment.  However, 
an  examination  in  the  field  shows  that  in  many  cases  the 
word  '  'equipment"  rather  than  "laboratories"  should  have 
been  used.  Several  schools  have  meager  laboratory  equip- 
ments in  physics  and  chemistry  and  are  credited  with  hav- 
ing laboratories  in  these  sciences.  There  are  13  secondary 
schools  that  are  rated  of  the  first-class  which  have  no  labora- 
tories either  in  physics,  in  chemistry,  or  in  any  other  sub- 
ject. This  list  of  schools  corresponds  fairly  close  to  the 
list  that  has  no  libraries. 

On  the  other  hand,  one  finds  science  work  of  a  high 
degree  done  in  several  of  the  schools  that  have  separate 
rooms  for  experiment  and  storage,  adequate  equipment, 
and  competent  science  teachers.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  observe 
the  science  work  at  Bellows  Falls,  Brattleboro,  Burlington, 
Rutland,  St.  Johnsbury  and  Saxtons  River.  Special  men- 


14 


MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 


tion  also  should  be  made  of  the  work  that  may  be  accom- 
plished in  a  small  high  school.  At  Bristol  a  good  room 
has  been  provided  and  equipped,  and  the  work  between 
physics  and  chemistry  and  biology  is  well  balanced.  Hard- 
wick,  also,  may  be  mentioned  as  illustrating  what  can  be 
done  in  furnishing  and  equipping  laboratories  and  store- 
rooms at  moderate  cost  as  well  as  in  securing  effective  in- 
struction in  the  sciences.  The  facilities  for  adequate  science 
teaching  at  the  normal  schools  at  Castleton  and  Johnson  as 
well  as  at  the  State  Agricultural  School  at  Randolph  are  far 
ahead  of  those  provided  by  the  average  school  of  the  first 
class  of  the  state.  In  this  particular,  these  schools  might 
easily  rank  with  the  first  twelve  schools  of  the  state. 

Taking  the  schools  as  a  whole,  however,  the  facilities 
for  science  teaching  are  very  inadequate.  Twenty-eight 
per  cent  of  the  schools  have  no  laboratory  facilities  for  teach- 
ing chemistry  and  25  per  cent  have  no  facilities  for  teaching 
physics.  In  the  cases  of  51  per  cent  of  the  schools,  the 
value  of  the  physics  apparatus  is  less  than  $100  and  in  67 
per  cent  of  the  schools  the  value  of  the  chemistry  apparatus 
falls  below  $100.  The  value  of  laboratory  equipment  in 
different  schools  may  be  seen  by  consulting  the  following 
table : 

VALUE  OF  LABORATORY  EQUIPMENT. 


Subject 

No 
Value 

$1.00- 
$99.00 

$100.00- 
$299.00 

$300.00- 
$499.00 

Above 

$500.00 

Physics 

17 

18 

15 

10 

9 

Chemistry 

19 

27 

10 

8 

4 

As  for  biology,  more  than  half  of  the  schools  of  the 
state  give  no  instruction  in  the  subject,  either  in  botany  or 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT. 


15 


zoology.  It  is  impossible  to  give  an  estimate  of  the  value 
of  biological  apparatus  in  schools.  Some  idea  of  its  impor- 
tance may  be  had  from  the  following  table  which  shows  the 
condition  and  storage  of  the  apparatus  used  in  biology, 
chemistry  and  physics  in  different  schools.  Schools  usually 
are  very  lax  in  providing  adequate  storage  for  their  scien- 
tific equipment.  For  this  purpose  there  should  be  store- 
rooms, or  if  these  are  impossible,  large  closets.  Careful 
inventories  of  all  apparatus  and  equipment  should  be  made 
at  the  end  of  the  school  year.  Such  lists  as  these  are  val- 
uable in  determining  the  status  of  the  department,  in 
helping  a  new  teacher  to  become  acquainted  with  the  stock 
in  trade,  and  may  be  referred  to  easily  when  data  is  sought 
by  the  department  of  education  or  other  interested  persons. 

LABORATORY  EQUIPMENT. 


Rating 

Biology 
Condition   Storage 

Chemistry 
Condition   Storage 

Physics 
Condition   Storage 

Good 

13 

13 

22 

22 

22 

26 

Fair 

8 

8 

25 

17 

18 

17 

Poor 

3 

3 

5 

13 

14 

12 

None 

28 

28 

17 

17 

15 

14 

The  programs  of  study  of  8  of  the  smaller  high  schools 
listed  in  the  first  class,  show  that  5 1  per  cent  of  the  teach- 
ing is  in  the  languages  and  less  than  12  per  cent  in  the 
sciences.  In  four  of  these  schools  the  little  science  teach- 
ing that  was  attempted  was  done  with  no  apparatus  what- 
ever. In  a  certain  school  the  teacher  gave  a  course  in 
chemistry,  although  the  school  possesses  no  equipment 
whatever.  In  answer  to  my  inquiry  why,  under  these  con- 


16  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

ditions,  she  taught  the  subject,  the  teacher  replied  that  she 
had  been  fond  of  chemistry  in  college  and  thought  it  would 
be  nice  to  have  a  class  in  chemistry  in  her  school.  This 
may  be  an  extreme  case  but  it  is  illustrative  of  how  little  the 
schools  serve  the  needs  and  interests  of  the  pupils,  and  of 
incompetent  instruction  that  follows  the  old-fashioned  book 
method  instead  of  the  laboratory  method  in  the  sciences. 

There  is  great  need  for  wholesome  advance  in  the 
teaching  of  sciences  in  our  secondary  schools.  It  would  be 
well  if  the  state  department  of  education  should  take  the 
initiative  in  this  matter.  No  school  should  be  listed  of  the 
first  class  which  does  not  possess  an  approved  laboratory 
equipment  in  at  least  one  of  the  major  sciences.  In  the 
matter  of  state  control,  supervision,  inspection,  accrediting, 
Vermont  is  far  behind  her  neighbors.  The  states  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine  have  made  a  great  increase  in  effic- 
iency of  their  secondary  school  system  in  general,  and  in 
the  teaching  of  sciences  in  particular,  within  the  past  few 
years.  In  New  Hampshire  each  approved  high  school 
must  possess  an  approved  list  of  apparatus  for  physics  that 
numbers  94  pieces  in  order  to  meet  the  statutory  require- 
ments that  schools  shall  be  properly  equipped  in  physics. 
In  chemistry  the  list  comprises  46  pieces  of  apparatus  and 
in  biology  nine  pieces.  In  Maine  the  maximum  laboratory 
requirement  presupposes: 

1.  A    room  specially  equipped  for  the  teaching  of 

science. 

2.  A  stock  room,  or  large  closet,  for  the  storage  of 

apparatus. 

3.  A  liberal  supply  of  scientific  reference  books  in  the 

school  library. 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT. 


17 


4.  Individual  and  laboratory  apparatus  in  chemistry 
and  physics  similar  in  kind  and  amount  to  the 
New  Hampshire  required  lists. 

Science  teaching  in  Vermont  needs  to  be  developed, 
made  mandatory  and  carefully  inspected  before  we  can  hope 
to  have  a  system  of  secondary  education  on  a  par  with  that 
in  force  in  neighboring  states. 

TEACHING  STAFF. 

The  teaching  staff  of  Vermont  secondary  schools  con- 
sists of  135  men  and  23  S  women — a  total  staff  of  370 
teachers;  these  divided  among  the  73  institutions  give  an 
average  of  5  teachers  to  a  school  or  one  teacher  for  about 
20  to  25  pupils.*  The  ratio  between  the  male  and  female 

RATIO  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  SECONDARY  TEACHERS. 


Place. 

Per  cent  Men 

Per  cent  Women 

United  States, 

44.3 

55.7 

N.  Atlantic  Div., 

42.2 

57.8 

Maine, 

39.5 

60.5 

New  Hampshire, 
Vermont, 

38.6 
36.5 

61.4 
63.5 

secondary  teachers  of  Vermont  is  36.5  percent  male  and 
63. 5  per  cent  female.  This  ratio  shows  relatively  a  smaller 
proportion  of  male  teachers  in  Vermont  schools  in  compar- 
ison with  secondary  schools  of  other  states.  In  the  accom- 


*According  to  the  last  report  of  the  state  superintendent  of  education 
the  number  of  secondary  school  students  as  furnished  by  the  town  clerks 
is  10,118;  the  number  given  by  high  school  principals  is  7,108. 


18 


MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 


panying  table  a  comparative  view  is  given  of  the  ratio  of 
male  and  female  secondary  teachers  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  and  different  states,  from  data  published  within 
three  years. 

THE  TEACHERS'  EDUCATION. 

Conclusions  arrived  at  in  regard  to  the  amount  of  edu- 
cation that  the  secondary  teachers  of  Vermont  have  had  are 
based  on  data  obtained  from  the  290  teachers  who  make  up 
the  staff  in  the  schools  that  were  inspected,  or  78  per  cent 
of  the  teachers  of  the  state.  The  results  show  that  73.8 
per  cent  of  the  secondary  teachers  are  college  graduates, 
4.5  per  cent  have  had  part  training  in  college,  and  21.7  per 
cent  are  below  the  college  grade.  The  last  named  class  is 
made  up  of  teachers  whose  education  does  not  extend  be- 
yond the  high,  normal,  commercial  or  vocational  schools  of 
secondary  grade. 

No  estimate  can  be  given  of  the  influence  of  the  pro- 
fessional training  of  teachers  on  the  quality  of  their  work  in 

AMOUNT  OF  EDUCATION  OF  SECONDARY  TEACHERS. 


Com'l 

Normal 

High 

Special 

Part 
College 

College 

Men 

6 

2 

1 

10 

4 

93 

Women 

7 

14 

7 

16 

9 

121 

Total 

13 

16 

8 

26 

13 

214 

Per  cent 

4.5 

5.5 

2.8 

8.9 

4.5 

73.8 

the  classroom.  Data  relating  to  this  subject  is  indefinite 
and  may  not  be  tabulated  easily.  Forty-one  teachers  have  re- 
ceived professional  training  but  it  varies  greatly  in  amount 
and  kind  from  single  summer  session  courses  taken  by 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  19 

teachers  of  high  school  grade  to  university  work  by  college 
graduates  for  the  Master's  degree,  or  study  abroad. 

In  the  amount  of  education  required  of  its  secondary 
teachers,  the  Vermont  system  does  not  compare  favorably 
with  requirements  in  other  states.  In  the  state  of  Washing- 
ton, for  example,  82  per  cent  of  the  secondary  teachers  are 
of  college  grade;  in  New  Hampshire  above  92  per  cent  of 
the  teachers  are  graduates  of  colleges.  In  New  York  not 
only  must  the  teachers  be  college  graduates  but  after  two 
years  of  teaching  in  that  state  they  must  pass  rigid  examina- 
tions of  a  professional  nature.  A  new  plan  of  certification 
of  teachers  in  state-aided  high  schools  in  Massachusetts 
goes  into  force  this  year,  which  requires  for  the  future  that 
teachers  shall  possess  a  bachelor's  degree,  shall  have  had 
special  preparation  in  at  least  two  subjects,  called  "majors", 
to  which  the  candidate  expects  to  devote  particular  atten- 
tion in  his  work  as  teacher,  and  careful  preparation  in 
at  least  two  other  subjects  of  study,  called  ''minor"  sub- 
jects, taken  from  a  selected  list.  In  addition  to  this  ac- 
ademic preparation,  candidates  must  conform  to  certain  re- 
quirements in  professional  study  and  training  for  their  work 
as  teacher.  In  Vermont  there  are  no  statutory  require- 
ments setting  forth  the  academic  or  professional  training  of 
the  candidates  for  teaching  positions  in  secondary  schools 
or  otherwise  designating  the  amount  or  character  of  the 
academic  preparation  and  professional  training  of  teachers 
for  secondary  schools;  no  distinction  is  made  between  the 
qualifications  of  high  school  teachers  and  those  of  the  ele- 
mentary grades.* 

*Sec.  963,  General  Laws  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  reads: 
"To  COLLEGE  GRADUATES.     A  certificate  of  the  first  grade  may  be  is- 
sued, without  examination,  to  a  graduate  of  a  college  approved  by  said 


20 


MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 


SALARIES. 

The  salaries  of  male  teachers  range  from  below  $400 
to  $2500.  Fifty-five  per  cent  of  them  receive  salaries  be- 
tween $800  and  $1300,  28  per  cent  between  $1300  and 
$2500,  and  17  per  cent  below  $800.  The  salaries  of 
female  teachers  range  from  $360  to  $1000.  Fifty-two  per 
cent  of  them  receive  between  $500  and  $700,  26  per  cent 
between  $700  and  $1000,  and  28  per  cent  below  $500. 
The  average  salary  the  first  year  for  teachers  with  no  pre- 
vious experience  is  $758  for  men  and  $457  for  women. 
During  the  first  six  years  of  teaching  experience  the  aver- 
age salaries  of  men  is  between  $300  and  $400  greater  than 
that  of  women.  The  relation  between  salaries  and  exper- 
ience is  shown  in  the  following  table : 

RELATION  BETWEEN  SALARIES  AND  EXPERIENCE. 


Years  of 

1 

9 

q 

4, 

5" 

Experience 

Men 

$786 

$829 

$937 

$917 

$1075 

$1100 

Women 

457 

497 

585 

617 

625 

700 

Comment  on  the  low  salaries  that  our  teachers  receive 
seems  unnecessary.  It  is  a  state  of  affairs  that  is  recognized 
but  not  assented  to  by  Vermont  educators.  A  silent  pro- 
test by  Vermont  teachers  against  absurdly  low  salaries 
is  seen  in  the  fact  that  none  of  the  teachers  who  receive 

superintendent,  upon  presentation  of  a  diploma  or  certificate  of  gradua- 
tion ;  and,  at  the  expiration  of  the  certificate  so  issued,  if  said  graduate  has 
taught  forty  weeks,  said  superintendent  may  issue  a  second  first  grade  cer- 
tificate." 

A  certificate  of  the  first  grade  is  a  license  to  teach  in  the  public  schools 
for  five  years  from  its  date. 


I\J  £L  K)  to  »— ••  i- 

Oo  x  bO  O  ^D  ^ 
O  u  ^^  O  V^D  C 
O>  V»O  O>  '^J  <C 

n 


-4^ 

O 
O 


O^ 


i—  ^O 


Ki 


OO 
-P»-          i—  »• 


O»—  l 


Oo 


SO 


8 


i 

o 

CO 


OO 


00 


Oo 


22  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

salaries  of  $400  or  under  is  a  graduate  of  a  Vermont  college. 
They  are  mostly  graduates  of  Massachusetts  colleges.  It 
may  be  stated,  too,  that  a  salary  in  Vermont  corresponds 
to  a  somewhat  higher  value  in  other  states.  A  salary  of 
$600  for  our  shorter  school  year  is  equal  to  one  of  $654  in 
New  York  or  Massachusetts,  and,  if  the  difference  in  cost 
of  living  is  considered,  it  would  be  above  $700. 

EXPERIENCE. 

There  is  more  professional  stability  among  the  male 
than  among  the  female  teachers  of  the  state.  This  is  shown 
in  the  smaller  per  cent  who  are  without  previous  exper- 
ience and  the  longer  term  of  service.  Nine  and  one-tenth 
per  cent  of  the  men  and  18  per  cent  of  the  women  are  with- 
out previous  teaching  experience.  A  majority  of  the  male 
teachers  ( 54  per  cent)  have  an  experience  of  5  years  or 
under.  Fifty-eight  per  cent  of  the  female  teachers  have 
taught  less  than  four  years.  The  average  length  of  service 
of  male  teachers  is  8.1  years  and  of  female  teachers  5.1 
years;  the  men  remain  in  the  service  59  per  cent  longer 
time  than  the  women. 

TEACHING  EFFICIENCY. 

The  classroom  efficiency  of  the  teaching  staff  of  the 
schools  has  been  estimated  from  notes  taken  in  observing 
the  work  of  209  teachers  in  296  recitations.  In  this  con- 
nection, note  was  made  of  the  name  of  the  teacher,  the  class 
reciting,  the  number  of  pupils,  preparation  of  the  pupils, 
preparation  of  the  teacher  and  the  recitation  as  a  whole,— 
the  data  being  recorded  either  during  the  progress  of  the 
recitation  or  immediately  after.  The  terms  excellent,  good, 
fair  and  poor  refer  to  the  standard  of  classroom  work.  A 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  23 

teacher's  work  was  rated  "excellent"  which  was  judged  to 
be  of  a  superior  type.  When  the  work  was  satisfactory  it 
was  rated  as  "good".  Work  was  rated  as  "fair"  in  which 
there  was  as  much  that  was  unfavorable  as  favorable. 
Where  the  teacher's  work  was  rated  "poor"  it  means  that 
the  teacher  should  be  employed  in  some  other  business. 
On  the  whole  there  is  more  teaching  that  is  satisfactory 
in  its  results  than  the  opposite.  The  best  work  was  done, 
as  a  rule,  in  the  higher  class  of  schools  where  the  teachers 
are  experienced  and  their  work  is  departmental  in  character. 
Ten  and  one-half  per  cent  of  the  teaching  was  excellent; 
48.3  per  cent  of  the  work  was  rated  as  good;  33.4  per 
cent  as  fair  and  7. 5  per  cent  as  poor.  In  the  case  of  the 
last  named  it  means  that  there  are  22  teachers  whose  work 
was  judged  a  failure. 

The  23  subjects  of  study  that  were  observed  have,  for 
convenience,  been  divided  into  the  following  groups:  lan- 
guages, sciences,  mathematics,  history  and  miscellaneous. 
The  average  rating  of  each  subject  in  each  group  has  been 
made,  and  from  these  averages,  the  rating  for  the  group 
has  been  determined.  Finally,  an  average  of  the  different 
group  ratings  has  been  made,  which  is  the  best  available 
standard  in  determining  the  teaching  efficiency  in  the 
secondary  schools  of  Vermont.  This  average  is  69.3  per 
cent.  The  lowest  grade  teaching  was  found  in  history, 
67.5  per  cent;  the  next  highest  in  the  sciences,  68.2  per 
cent;  then  followed  the  languages,  69.1  per  cent;  mathe- 
matics, 71.3  per  cent  and  the  miscellaneous  group,  73.1 
per  cent.  The  miscellaneous  group,  which  consists  of  pen- 
manship, bookkeeping,  commercial  geography  and  teach- 
ers' courses,  is  made  up  of  8  observations  only  and  there- 


24 


MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 


fore  is  less  representative  than  the  other  groups.  The 
number  of  classes  observed  in  each  group,  together  with 
the  percentages  of  the  groups,  is  shown  in  the  table  below. 

RATING  OF  GROUPS  OF  STUDIES. 


Number  of 

Average 

Recitations 

Rating 

Rating  of 

Observed 

Groups 

Miscellaneous, 

8 

73.1 

Mathematics 

56 

71.3 

Languages 

142 

69.1 

69.3 

Sciences 

44 

68.2 

History 

46 

67.5 

Educational  opinions  and  impressions  are  often  at  var- 
iance with  that  part  of  education  which  can  be  reduced  to  a 
science.  The  general  impression  made  upon  me  through 
observation  of  teaching  was  that  Latin,  Mathematics,  the 
Sciences,  English,  History  and  Modern  Languages  ranked 
in  the  order  given  in  point  of  effectiveness  of  the  teaching. 
After  carefully  checking  up  my  records  and  reducing  the 
several  subjects  to  the  same  basis  of  comparison,  the  relative 
standing  of  11  principal  subjects  in  teaching  efficiency  is 
elementary  algebra,  German,  physics,  plane  geometry, 
French,  English,  chemistry,  Latin,  history,  biology  and 
agriculture. 

One  reason  for  many  instances  of  low  rating  is  easily 
traceable  to  the  program  of  study.  Often  a  teacher  had  as 
many  as  8  or  9  classes  daily,  so  that  it  became  a  physical 
impossibility  for  him  to  excel  in  any  of  them.  This  phase 
of  inefficient  teaching  is  considered  more  at  length  under 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  25 

the  subject  of  Courses  of  Study.  In  the  cases  of  History, 
Biology,  and  Agriculture  other  causes  for  low  rating  are 
easily  found.  Very  much  of  History  teaching  is  out  of 
date,  it  being  largely  a  matter  of  hearing  recitations ;  in  the 
case  of  Biology,  inadequate  equipment  was  a  principal  cause 
of  poor  instruction.  The  quality  of  the  teaching  in  Agri- 
culture in  high  schools  illustrates  the  folly  of  attempting  to 
teach  a  subject  with  very  little  equipment  and  with  teachers 
who  have  no  knowledge  of  the  subject  or  of  the  methods 
of  its  presentation.  Before  adequate  instruction  can  be 
given  in  high  school  Agriculture,  teachers  must  be  prepared 
in  a  knowledge  of  the  subject  matter,  and  the  materials  and 
method  of  the  subject  must  be  more  clearly  specified.  In 
the  teaching  of  French  little  use  is  made  of  the  direct 
method  in  the  class  either  in  elementary  or  in  advanced 
courses.  A  few  brilliant  exceptions  emphasize  very  clearly 
how  this  foreign  language  may  be  made  both  attractive  and 
useful  to  the  high  school  pupil.  The  relative  rating  of 
the  several  subjects  of  study  may  be  seen  in  the  table  on 
the  following  page. 

COURSES  OF  STUDY  AND  APPROVED  SCHOOLS. 

The  length  of  the  course  of  study  is  the  basis  for  rat- 
ing approved  high  schools  and  academies  in  Vermont. 
The  statutes  provide  that  an  approved  high  school  of  the 
first  class  must  maintain,  through  a  period  of  four  years, 
one  or  more  courses  of  study  that  have  been  approved  by 
the  superintendent  of  education. 

During  the  present  year  there  are  90  approved  high 
schools  and  academies  in  the  state.  These,  as  listed  ac- 
cording to  our  present  statutes,  consist  of  74  of  the  first 
class,  two  of  the  second  class,  13  of  the  third  class  and  one 


TEACHING  EFFICIENCY  BY  GROUPS  AND  STUDIES. 


Number  of 
Classes 
Observed 

Rating  of 
Subjects 

Average 
Rating  of 
Groups 

Miscellaneous: 

73.1 

Penmanship, 

1 

75.0 

Bookkeeping, 

I 

75.0 

Teacher  Tr'g, 

5 

72.0 

Com.  Geog., 

1 

75.0 

Mathematics: 

71.3 

Geometry, 

27 

70.0 

Algebra, 

21 

74.7 

Adv.  Math., 

3 

65.0 

Arithmetic, 

5 

66.0 

Languages: 

69.1 

Latin, 

51 

67.6 

English, 

39 

69.2 

French, 

36 

69.6 

German, 

14 

72.8 

Greek, 

2 

75.0 

Sciences: 

68.2 

Chemistry, 

13 

69.2 

Physics, 

9 

71.6 

Physiology, 

3 

70.0 

Astronomy, 

1 

75.0 

Biology, 

$ 

66.0 

Phy.  Geog., 

$ 

69.0 

Agriculture, 

7 

60.0 

El.  Science, 

1 

75.0 

History: 

67.5 

History, 

46 

67.5 

SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT. 


27 


of  the  fourth  class.     Eighty-two   per   cent  of   the  schools 
qualify  in  the  first  class. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  APPROVED  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS. 


Classification 

First 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Total 

High  Schools, 

57 

2 

12 

1 

72 

Academies, 

17 

1 

18 

Total, 

74 

2 

13 

1 

90 

My  own  estimate  of  the  schools  that  were  visited, 
based  upon  the  ability  of  the  school  to  serve  the  needs  of 
its  community,  differs  considerably  from  the  above  list.  In 
estimating  the  quality  of  the  school,  consideration  was 
given  to  the  teaching  staff,  library,  laboratory,  courses  of 
study,  and  the  spirit  of  the  school.  Sixty-five  secondary 
schools  listed  in  the  first  class  were  visited  and  in  my  judg- 
ment they  may  be  divided  into  27  first  class  schools,  19 
second  class  schools,  and  19  third  class  schools. 

The  wholesale  manner  in  which  schools  may  be  rated 
of  the  first  class  in  this  state  is  most  reprehensible.  Little 
or  no  consideration  has  been  paid  to  the  effciency  of  the 
teaching  staff,  the  condition  of  the  school  buildings,  the 
provision  for  laboratories  with  apparatus,  the  equipment  of 
libraries,  or  to  the  manner  in  which  the  course  of  study  is 
carried  out  in  the  school.  The  only  possible  good  that  can 
be  seen  in  a  policy  of  this  kind  is  to  secure  a  longer  list  of 
schools  rated  as  high  schools  of  the  first  class.  Such  a 
policy  works  hardship  on  the  teacher,  is  unjust  to  the  pupil, 
uneconomic  to  the  community,  unfair  to  those  high  schools 
of  the  state  which  can  be  easily  ranked  as  first  class  high 


28 


MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 


schools,  and  establishes  wrong  standards  of  education  in  the 
community. 

That  it  works  hardship  on  the  teacher  may  be  seen 
from  the  fact  that  there  are  14  high  schools  of  the  first  class 
which  have  but  two  teachers  each.  The  hardship  is  not 
only  a  mental  one  in  preparing  for  the  day's  work  in  so 
many  subjects,  but  also  a  physical  one  in  teaching  so  many 
different  classes  during  the  day.  A  few  cases  will  illustrate 
the  hardship  imposed  upon  the  principal  and  his  assistant 
when  carrying  out  the  high  school  program  of  four  years  in 
length.  In  this  connection  it  should  be  remembered  that 
many  of  these  small  schools  have  little  or  no  apparatus  and 
equipment,  and  in  many  cases  the  teachers  are  either  of  a 
poor  grade  or  with  a  short  teaching  experience. 


CASE  I. 
PRINCIPAL  ASSISTANT 

Algebra  1         Caesar 
Physics  3         History  4 
Plane  Geom.   English  1 
Bookkeeping  English  2 
Geology  Cicero 

Com.  Arith.    Latin  1 


French  3 
French  4 
History  1 


English  4 
History  2-3 
English  3 


CASE  II. 
PRINCIPAL  ASSISTANT 


French  3 
Latin  1 
French  2 
Math.  4 
Com.  Geog. 
Physics 
Cicero 
Com.  Arith. 


History  1 
Anc.  History 
English  3-4 
English  1 
Geometry 
History  4 
Algebra  1 
English  2 


CASE  III. 


PRINCIPAL  ASSISTANT 

Geometry        Am.  Hist. 
Physics  Caesar 


CASE  IV. 
PRINCIPAL  ASSISTANT 

Adv.  Algebra  English 
Anc.  Hist.       French  3 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  29 


Algebra 
Arithmetic 
French  2 
French  1 

Virgil 
Latin  1 
Phys.  Geog. 
Med.  Hist. 

Geometry 
Algebra 
Phys.  Geog. 
Latin  1 

English  4 
Caesar 
English  3 
Am.  Hist. 

Eng.  Lit. 
Am.  Lit. 

English  2 

English  1 
Anc.  Hist. 

Chemistry 
Cicero 
Arith. 

French  2 
English  2 
French  4 

This  policy  of  accrediting  schools  is  unjust  to  the 
student  in  that  he  may  attend  a  high  school  rated  of  the 
first  class,  have  his  tuition  paid  by  the  state  and  find  him- 
self in  a  school  with  no  library  equipment,  no  laboratory  or 
apparatus,  and  with  teachers  whose  work  is  greatly  over- 
crowded and  who  do  not  necessarily  have  to  be  college 
graduates.  The  injustice  is  felt  later  when  he  discovers 
that  in  reality  he  had  been  attending  a  third  rate  high 
school  of  the  state  which  was  rated  as  one  of  the  first  class. 
Graduates  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  Norwich  and 
Middlebury  College,  who  are  teaching  in  the  state,  told  me 
of  their  disappointment  on  entering  college  to  find  that 
their  preparation  was  inadequate,  even  though  they  had  at- 
tended high  schools  classified  of  the  first  class. 

Again,  it  is  unfair  to  those  high  schools  of  the  state 
which  are  really  first  class  in  quality  to  be  placed  in  the 
same  list  with  schools  which  have  no  libraries,  no  science 
equipment,  poor  buildings,  inadequate  teaching  staff  and  a 
restricted  course  of  study. 

It  is  uneconomic  for  the  state  to  provide  free  tuition  to 
2358  pupils  at  schools  which  have  as  their  principal  quality 
of  merit  a  four  years'  program  of  study.  A  state  can  in- 
vest its  funds  more  profitably  by  establishing  a  more  dis- 
criminating standard  for  high  schools  of  the  first  class.  No 


30  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

business  man  would  invest  in  a  manufacturing  enterprise 
which  had  as  its  only  guarantee  a  prescribed  number  of 
hours  of  work  per  week.  He  would  demand  some  ma- 
chinery and  equipment,  intelligent  workmen  and  a  stand- 
ard of  quality  for  the  output.  The  low  state  of  secondary 
education  in  Vermont  can  be  traced  more  to  the  lax  method 
of  accrediting  high  schools  than  to  any  other  source. 

The  effect  of  the  inferior  methods  of  accrediting 
secondary  schools  is  most  baneful  to  the  community. 
Most  schools,  doubtless,  furnish  advantages  superior  to 
those  that  were  offered  twenty  years  ago.  Schools  have 
multiplied  and  high  school  attendance  has  increased  greatly 
in  recent  years,  so  that  what  is  really  only  a  normal  growth 
appears  to  many  in  the  community  as  an  unusual  attain- 
ment.* In  many  places  the  local  high  school  is  the  only 
standard  the  people  have  for  judging  what  is  the  best  in 
education.  Many  teachers,  principals  and  superintendents 
have  received  their  education  wholly  at  Vermont  schools 
and  have  no  other  standards  of  judgment.  When  these 
are  rated  so  low  that  about  59  per  cent  of  the  high  schools 
of  the  first  class  are  overrated,  the  effect  on  the  community 
can  be  seen.  If  a  school  is  rated  of  the  first  class,  the  im- 
pression prevails  that  the  height  of  educational  perfection 
has  been  reached.  People  are  loath  to  believe  that  educa- 
tional reform  is  necessary.  As  the  system  of  education  in 
Vermont  is  political,  community  sentiment  is  reflected  in 
the  legislature  through  the  community's  representative  with 
the  result  that  there  has  been  little  or  no  advance  in  second- 
ary education  from  this  source  for  a  good  many  years. 

*During  the  decade  ending  in  1910  the  attendance  at  secondary  schools 
in  the  United  States  increased  57  per  cent ;  in  Vermont,  the  increase  was 
38  per  cent. 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  31 

Reference  has  been  made  previously  to  certain  superior 
conditions  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  and 
New  York.  In  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  the  conditions 
of  approval  of  secondary  schools  are  as  follows: 

"A  first  or  second  class  approved  secondary  school 
must  have  a  teaching  force  composed  of  graduates  of  ap- 
proved colleges  or  of  persons  possessing  for  the  purpose  of 
their  position  equivalent  education. 

Equivalent  education  is  a  matter  for  the  decision  of  the 
department  in  each  case  as  it  arises. 

Each  school  must  possess: 

(a)  A  suitable  building  and  schoolroom  furniture; 

(b)  Text-books  sufficient  in  quantity  and  quality  for 
the  courses  taught; 

(c)  Maps,  globes  and  charts  sufficient  for  the  courses 
taught ; 

(d)  A  suitable  encyclopedia,  and  unabridged  diction- 
ary; 

(e)  Lexicons  and  other  reference  books  sufficient  for 
courses  taught; 

(f)  Apparatus  sufficient  and  suitable  for  each  of  the 
science  courses  taught. 

Each  approved  school  must  maintain  a  program  com- 
posed of  secondary  subjects  exclusively,  to  the  following 
extent:  if  a  first  class  school,  not  less  than  fourteen  units. 

Each  first  class  school  must  give  one  unit,  required  of 
all  pupils,  of  instruction  in  the  constitutions  of  the  United 
States  and  of  New  Hampshire.  A  Senior  course  in  con- 
stitutional history  of  the  United  States  and  of  New  Hamp- 
shire is  recommended. 


32  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

The  faculty  of  each  school  must  be  sufficient  so  that 
no  teacher  will  be  required  to  teach  more  than  eight  periods 
per  day. 

Pupils  may  be  admitted  to,  promoted  in,  and  graduat- 
ed from,  approved  secondary  schools  only  under  regula- 
tions approved  by  the  department. " 

Conditions  for  accrediting  high  schools  in  the  state  of 
New  Hampshire  have  been  given  at  length  because  that 
state,  more  than  any  other  in  the  Union,  is  the  most  like 
Vermont  geographically,  physically,  historically  and  social- 
ly. Occasionally  reference  has  been  made  to  the  school 
systems  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  but  these  systems 
have  not  been  emphasized  because  of  the  impression  that 
prevails  that  Vermont  is  not  in  the  class  with  these  wealthy 
states.  One  must  admit,  however,  the  superiority  of  the 
systems  of  education  in  these  two  states.  The  principal 
question,  in  comparing  Vermont  with  them,  is  whether 
their  superior  educational  conditions  are  due  to  the  wealth 
of  the  state,  or  if  it  is  not  rather  true  that  those  states  are 
wealthy  because  they  have  maintained  during  a  long  period 
of  years  a  high  standard  of  elementary  and  secondary  school 
systems. 

In  this  connection,  one  might  investigate  with  profit 
the  school  systems  of  other  states  which  are  beyond  the 
limit  of  neighborhood  relations. 

An  examination  of  the  high  standards  for  accrediting 
high  schools  in  the  state  of  Iowa  shows  the  efforts  that  are 
made  in  that  state  for  superior  forms  of  education  and, 
indirectly,  reveals  the  intolerable  weakness  of  conditions  in 
our  own  state.  The  standards  for  accrediting  in  Iowa  have 
prevailed  for  many  years.  The  following  are  both  the 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  33 

general  and  the  specific  standards  for  accrediting  the  high 
schools  of  the  highest  class  in  the  state  of  Iowa.  The 
general  standards  are : 

1.  "The  course  of  study  shall  require  of  each  pupil 
not  more  than  four  recitations  daily  and  shall  rest  upon  an 
elementary  course  of  not  less  than  eight  years  of  thirty-six 
weeks  each  in  length. 

2.  The  number  of  daily  periods  of  class-room  instruc- 
tion given  by  any  one  teacher  shall  not  exceed  seven,  each 
to    extend   over   at   least   forty    minutes.     Fewer   periods 
would  be  productive  of  a  higher  grade  of  scholarship. 

3.  If  all  the  teachers  of  a  school  are   graduates  of 
standard  colleges  the  school  will  be  regarded  as  meeting  the 
requirements  for  scholastic  attainment    of    teaching  force. 
If  one  or  more  teachers  are  not  such  graduates,  the  board 
of  secondary  school  relations  shall  use  its  judgment  in  deter- 
mining the  sufficiency  of  the  scholastic  attainment  of  such 
teacher  or  teachers. 

4.  Laboratory  and  library  facilities  and  the  character 
of  text  books  shall  be  adequate  to  the  needs  of  instruction 
in  the  subjects  taught. 

5.  The  quality  of  instruction,  the  spirit  of  the  school, 
and  the  conditions  of  the  school  buildings  shall  be  such  as 
to  make  possible  satisfactory  scholarship." 

In  addition  to  the  general  standards,  schools  of  Group 
1  must  meet  the  following  specific  standards: 

1.  "At  least  fifteen  units  for  graduation. 

2.  A  course  of  study  meeting  the  requirements  for 
unconditioned  entrance    upon  all  the  four-year   collegiate 
courses  in  the  said  institutions. 


34  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

3.  The  number  of  daily  periods  of  class-room  instruc- 
tion given  by  any  one  teacher  not  to  exceed  six,  each  to  ex- 
tend over  at  least  forty  minutes  in  the  clear. 

4.  The  number  of  pupils  not  to   exceed  an  average 
of  thirty  for  each  teacher. 

5.  A  minimum  teaching  force  of  four  teachers,  ex- 
clusive of  the  superintendent. 

6.  The  quality  of  the  teacher's  instruction  and  the 
character  of  the  student's  scholarship  as  determined  both 
by  inspection  and  by  college  records  of  graduates  to  be  of 
notably  high  order. " 

The  other  groups  of  accredited  schools  are  provided 
for,  but  the  standards  for  Group  1  are  given  in  detail  for 
purposes  of  comparison  with  conditions  in  Vermont. 

THE  SMALL  HIGH  SCHOOL. 

There  is  so  much  that  merits  consideration  and  so 
much  that  evokes  criticism  in  many  of  the  small  high 
schools  that  special  reference  to  them  may  not  be  out  of 
place.  These  schools  fulfill  an  important  mission  in  our 
educational  system.  Criticism  in  regard  to  them  has  been 
expressed  in  the  preceding  pages.  For  a  school  to  be 
small  is  not  a  reason  in  itself  for  it  to  be  made  a  mark  for 
unfavorable  criticism.  A  principal  criticism  of  the  small 
high  school  is  that  it  has  too  often  been  out-classed.  What 
is  needed  among  our  schools  is  not  a  classification  but  a 
standardization.  Small  schools  often  undertake  to  do  too 
much  work;  their  facilities  are  meager,  their  teaching  staff 
few  in  numbers,  the  community  influence  unfavorable. 
The  school  undertakes  to  carry  out  a  four-year  program  of 
studies  with  the  result  that,  although  the  ground  may  be 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  35 

covered,  the  work  is  of  a  superficial  nature.  If  higher 
standards  were  required  in  way  of  equipment  and  teaching 
force  many  of  the  schools  would  be  legislated  out  of  exis- 
tence. They  are  too  valuable  for  that  to  happen.  Rather 
they  should  be  legislated  into  real  efficient  existence.  It 
would  be  well  if  special  appropriation  of  state  school  funds 
could  be  made  to  deserving  communities  which  appropriate 
annually  a  good  per  cent  of  the  grand  list  for  education,— 
the  extra  funds  to  be  used  in  securing  high  grade  teachers 
and  in  purchasing  apparatus  for  school  use. 

STATE  ADMINISTRATION 
OF  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS. 

The  principal  statutory  requirements  of  Vermont  that 
relate  to  instruction  in  high  schools  and  academies  provide 
that  a  high  school  shall  be  in  one  of  the  following  classes : 

First  class,  the  schools  of  a  4  years'  course  or  courses. 

Second  class,  the  schools  of  a  3  years'  course  or 
courses. 

Third  class,  the  schools  of  a  2  years'  course  or  courses. 

Fourth  class,  the  schools  of  a  1  year' s  course  or  courses. 

The  courses  of  instruction  in  any  one  of  the  four 
classes  shall  begin  immediately  at  the  completion  of  an  ele- 
mentary course  of  nine  years.  The  schools  shall  be  main- 
tained at  least  36  weeks  in  the  school  year  and  shall  be 
taught  by  a  teacher  or  teachers  of  competent  ability,  of 
good  morals  and  legal  certification.  The  course  or  courses 
and  subjects  of  study  for  each  school  shall  be  prescribed  by 
the  superintendent  of  education  and  each  school  shall  con- 
form thereto. 

Towns  shall  maintain  a  high  school  or  furnish  higher 
instruction  for  its  advanced  pupils  in  an  accredited  high 


36  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

school  or  academy.  The  qualification  of  a  pupil  to  receive 
free  tuition  in  a  high  school  of  another  town  or  in  an  acad- 
emy shall  be  determined  by  an  examination  given  by  the 
superintendent  of  the  town  in  which  the  pupil  resides. 
The  superintendent  of  a  town  in  which  a  high  school  is 
maintained  may  determine  the  qualifications  of  elementary 
pupils  to  enter  such  high  school  or  he  may  require  such 
pupils  to  take  the  state  examination  for  advanced  instruc- 
tion in  the  manner  prescribed  for  pupils  from  other  towns 
whose  tuition  is  paid  by  high  schools  or  academies.  Papers 
for  such  examinations  must  be  procured  from  the  superin- 
tendent of  education  and  the  papers  written  by  applicants 
must  be  forwarded  to  the  superintendent  of  education,  who 
shall  determine  the  ratings  of  pupils  and  notify  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  town.  The  standard  of  high  schools  and 
academies  shall  be  determined  and  established  by  the  super- 
intendent of  education. 

In  addition  to  the  statutory  requirements,  the  essentials 
of  which  have  been  briefly  mentioned  above,  mention 
should  be  made  of  a  publication  entitled  Minimum  Courses 
of  Study  prepared  for  the  High  Schools  and  Academies  of 
Vermont,  and  issued  by  the  department  of  education  in 
1907.  In  this  publication  there  are  14  pages  devoted  to 
suggested  programs  of  study,  apparatus,  and  experiments 
in  physics,  biology  and  chemistry.  On  pages  4  and  5  of 
this  pamphlet  the  following  conditions  governing  approved 
secondary  schools  are  set  forth : 

1.  "Secondary  school  teachers  must  be  college  grad- 
uates or  holders  of  first  grade  teacher's  certificates. 

2.  The  length  of  the  school  year  shall  be  at  least 
thirty-six  weeks. 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  37 

3.  The  minimum   number  of  recitations  shall  be  as 
indicated  in  the  courses  prescribed  hereafter. 

4.  The  admission  requirements  shall  include  all  the 
work  prescribed  by  law  for  the  elementary  schools. 

5.  The  length  of  a  recitation  for  classes  of  less  than 
ten.  must  be  at  least  thirty  minutes;   for  classes  of  tenor 
more,  forty  minutes. 

6.  The  work  in  each  subject  must  include  the  amount 
specified  hereafter;   but  the  order  may  be  modified  with 
the  approval  of  the  Superintendent  of  Education. 

7.  Not  more  than  one-half  of  the  laboratory  time  shall 
be  credited  as  recitation  time. 

8.  Each  principal  must  furnish  the  Superintendent  of 
Education,  at  the  beginning  of  each  scholastic  year,  a  certi- 
fied statement  of  the  courses  adopted  by  his  school,  the 
class  of  school  maintained,  and,  at  the  beginning  of  each 
term,  a  program  of  recitations/' 

The  administration  of  secondary  schools  in  Vermont  is 
weak  because  of  its  indefiniteness,  the  low  standard  of  re- 
quirements, the  short  school-year  and  the  inferior  certificate 
required  of  secondary  teachers. 

The  indefiniteness  is  shown  in  the  absence  of  printed 
manuals,  syllabi  and  other  aids  to  schools  and  teachers  of 
secondary  grade.  The  printed  courses  of  study  that  have 
been  issued  originated  in  the  School-masters'  Club.  Edu- 
cators of  the  state  today  are  uncertain  whether  these  courses 
serve  as  suggested  guides  to  them  in  their  work  or  whether 
they  are  prescribed  and  mandatory.  These  courses  as 
printed  show  a  lack  of  coherence  and  standard. 

The  statutory  requirement  for  the  length  of  the  high 
school  year  is  36  weeks.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the 


38  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

average  school  year  for  the  high  schools  of  the  state  is  36.  S 
weeks  and  for  the  academies  37.4  weeks.  This  gives  an 
average  of  36.7  weeks  for  the  secondary  schools  of  the 
state.  In  Massachusetts  and  New  York  the  requirements 
are  40  weeks  for  the  school  year.  In  this  particular,  the 
Vermont  high  schools  are  only  92  per  cent  as  efficient  as 
the  high  schools  of  those  two  states. 

High  school  teachers  may  be  college  graduates  or  they 
may  not  be.  The  qualifications  for  first  class  certificates 
are  a  teaching  record  of  40  weeks,  examination  papers  that 
show  the  applicant  has  reached  the  standard  required,  and 
evidence  of  good  moral  character  and  ability  to  govern. 
What  the  "standard  required"  may  be  is  not  stated. 
Already  references  have  been  made  to  the  standard  of  re- 
quirement in  other  states  for  high  school  teachers.  These 
either  conform  to  the  requirements  recommended  by  the 
Committee  of  Seventeen  of  the  National  Educational  As- 
sociation on  the  professional  preparation  of  high  school 
teachers,  or  else  they  are  developing  toward  those  require- 
ments. In  Vermont  no  single  part  of  these  requirements 
is  in  force. 

Another  noticeable  defect  of  the  present  system  of  high 
school  administration  is  the  absence  of  visiting  and  inspect- 
ing schools  by  state  officials.  This  was  a  frequent  source 
of  complaint  made  to  me  by  principals  and  superintendents. 
There  are  schools  which  could  be  visited  easily  that  have 
had  no  benefit  of  expert  educators  for  years  beyond  that 
given  by  local  officers.  The  result  of  this  neglect  is  seen 
in  the  character  of  the  individual  schools.  A  first  class  high 
school  rests  on  its  own  merits, — a  capable  principal  and  as- 
sistants, a  sympathetic  school  board,  an  interested  commun- 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  39 

ity.  A  third  rate  school  is  too  often  the  result  of  state 
neglect — no  state  inspection,  the  certification  of  inefficient 
teachers,  no  compulsory  equipment  and  apparatus,  a  shift- 
ing teaching  staff.  The  best  schools  may  not  need  state 
inspection,  yet  the  most  of  them  are  asking  for  it;  the 
poorer  class  of  schools  could  have  no  more  wholesome  ton- 
ic than  an  occasional  visit  from  a  state  official  qualified  to 
advise,  to  assist  and  to  correct  in  whatever  particulars  the 
local  needs  of  the  community  and  school  required. 

Attention  should  be  given  to  the  development  of  a 
more  complete  system  of  administration  of  secondary  edu- 
cation in  Vermont.  A  system  presupposes  a  definite  policy 
of  action,  carefully  prescribed  details  by  which  the  system 
shall  be  administered,  and  competent  force  to  administer 
the  system  economically  and  scientifically.  Such  a  system 
has  yet  to  be  worked  out  for  our  state.  The  department 
of  education  has  neither  funds,  clerical  force,  nor  staff 
officials  sufficient  to  administer  adequately  or  economically 
the  elementary  and  secondary  schools  of  the  state.  For 
the  school  system  to  be  standardized  in  every  particular 
would  require  a  stronger  administrative  body,  efficient 
clerical  force  and  adequate  inspection  of  schools.  It  would 
mean  increased  cost  but  a  more  efficient  administration  of 
secondary  schools.  There  are  states,  however,  which  be- 
lieve that  increased  efficiency  in  the  administrative  body  in- 
sures a  greater  increase  in  the  efficiency  of  the  school  sys- 
tem, and  is  worth  more  than  it  costs. 

SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  COLLEGE. 

A  frequent  inquiry  asked  of  school  principals  was  "In 
what  way  do  the  colleges  hamper  the  work  of  the  secondary 
schools?''  The  answer  invariably  was  that  they  felt  no 


40  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

idominance  of  college  influence  worth  mentioning.  How- 
ever, my  observation  led  me  to  a  different  conclusion.  It 

[seems  to  me  that  the  secondary  schools  of  the  state  show  in 

!a  very  marked  degree  the  influence  of  the  college.  It  is  an 
indirect  influence  today,  but  it  has  been  more  influential  in 

;  shaping  the  development  of  the  best  secondary  schools  in 
Vermont  than  has  any  standard  set  by  the  state.  The  re- 
quirements for  college  entrance  and  the  standards  of  the 
New  England  College  Certificate  Board  undoubtedly  have 
determined  the  maximum  standard  courses  in  our  second- 
ary schools. 

According  to  the  latest  report  of  the  New  England 
College  Certificate  Board  there  are  28  Vermont  secondary 
schools  on  the  approved  list  of  the  Board.  It  should  be 
stated  that  a  primary  condition  to  being  listed  among  ap- 
proved schools  is  that  a  school  maintain  a  certain  number 
of  students  for  a  stated  period  of  years  in  some  of  the  col- 
leges which  have  membership  in  the  Board.  In  compar- 
ing the  approved  list  of  the  Board  with  my  own  list  of  Ver- 
mont secondary  schools  I  find  that  there  are  19  schools  on 
the  approved  list  which  are  in  my  list  of  first  class  high 
schools,  8  of  the  approved  list  which  are  among  the  second 
class  high  schools,  and  one  of  the  approved  list  among  the 
third  class  high  schools.  On  the  other  hand,  8  first  class 
schools  of  the  state  are  not  on  the  approved  list  of  the 
Board. 

The  college  entrance  courses  in  our  secondary  schools 
receive  relatively  too  much  attention  and  also  more  than  the 
other  courses.  Too  often  the  library  equipment  and  ap- 
paratus for  the  laboratories  are  selected  to  meet  the  needs 
of  students  expecting  to  enter  college.  Special  apparatus 
for  teaching  Physical,  Commercial  and  Industrial  Geogra- 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT.  41 

phy,  Botany,  Zoology,  Physiology,  Domestic  Science  and 
Agriculture  is  too  often  neglected,  or,  if  furnished  at  all, 
because  it  is  incidental  to  the  equipment  of  chemical  and 
physical  laboratories.  There  is  a  tendency  in  some  of  the 
schools  to  adjust  the  supply  of  equipment,  the  instruction 
in  the  class,  and  the  nature  of  the  experiments  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  College  Certificate  Board.  This 
method  may  be  all  right  as  related  to  students  who  expect 
to  enter  college,  but  is  not  fair  to  those  students  who  ex- 
pect to  finish  their  education  with  a  high  school  course.  If 
the  secondary  schools  are  to  be  the  college  for  the  people, 
there  is  need  of  a  considerable  readjustment  in  our  teaching 
staff,  in  our  courses  of  study,  and  in  the  material  equip- 
ment of  the  schools  to  meet  the  needs  and  interests  of  the 
boys  and  girls  of  the  state.  An  encouraging  sign  is  the 
tendency  to  establish  commercial  courses  on  a  four  years' 
basis  with  the  technical  instruction  of  the  course  placed 
largely  in  the  last  two  years. 

Two  schools  that  promise  much  for  Vermont  boys  are 
the  State  Agricultural  School  at  Randolph  and  the  Agricul- 
tural Department  of  Lyndon  Institute.  Both  schools  have 
been  established  recently  on  broad  foundations,  with  rather 
full  equipment  for  serving  the  needs  of  their  patrons. 

SUMMARY. 

In  reviewing  the  condition  of  high  schools  and  acade- 
mies in  Vermont,  one  fact  stands  out  prominently,  viz. : 
the  need  of  complete  reorganization  of  the  system.  We 
would  suggest  as  necessary  means  for  bringing  the  schools 
of  the  state  to  the  highest  pitch  of  efficiency: 

1.     That  the  work  of  the  state  department  of  educa- 


42  MIDDLEBURY    COLLEGE    BULLETIN. 

tion  be  extended  more  completely  into  the  field  of  second- 
ary education. 

2.  That  the  state  require  inspection  of  high  schools 
and  a  satisfactory  conformation  of  approved  schools  to  a 
minimum  standard. 

3.  That  a  more  detailed   system   of   records  and  re- 
ports for  schools  be  developed,  that  a  cumulative  record  of 
every  pupil  be  kept  in    every   school   and  that  approved 
schools  take  inventories  of  library  equipment,   laboratory 
supplies,  and  other  school  property  annually,  and  furnish 
duplicate  copies  of  the  same  to  the  department  of  edu- 
cation. 

4.  That  approved  schools  possess  a  minimum  lab- 
oratory equipment  for   each   of   the  major  and  one  of  the 
minor  sciences  offered  in  its  course. 

5.  That   approved    schools   possess  standard  lists  of 
books  for  each  course  offered  in  history. 

6.  That  syllabi  and  manuals   for   the  teacher's  guid- 
ance be  furnished  to  the  high  schools  by  the  department  of 
education. 

7.  That  certification  of  teachers  entering  secondary 
school  service  be  based  on  higher  academic  and  professional 
attainments. 

8.  That  enriched  courses  of  study  be  provided  for 
both    the   regular  four-year   high   school  and   prospective 
six-year  high  schools. 

9.  That  the  school  year  be  increased  to  40  weeks  for 
approved  high  schools  and  to  36  weeks  for  eight  years  for 
elementary  schools.     In  the  latter  case  it  would   result  in 
the  saving  of  a  year  of  the   pupil's   time  over  the  present 
practice  of  having  nine  years  of  32  weeks  each. 


SECONDARY    EDUCATION    IN    VERMONT. 


43 


10.  That  six-year  high  schools  be  established  wher- 
ever practicable,  these  schools  to  continue  the  work  of  six- 
year  elementary  schools  that   have  36  weeks  in  the  school 
year. 

11.  That  more  careful  provision  be  made  for  the  in- 
spection of  the  heating,  lighting,  sanitation  and  ventilation 
of  school  buildings. 

12.  That  the  high  schools  in  the  smaller  communities 
which  show  a  spirit  of  liberal   support  of   schools  be  en- 
couraged by  special  State  appropriations. 


CORRECTION.     P.  20,  line  7,  instead  of  28  read  22. 


MIDDLEBURY     COLLEGE     BULLETIN 

VOL.  VI.  NUMBER  V. 

Published  by  the  College  September,  October,  December,  February, 
May,  and  July.  Entered  as  second  class  matter  at  the  postoffice, 
Middlebury,  Vermont,  under  act  of  Congress,  of  July  16,  1894. 

THE  SEYMOUR^  PRESS  -  MIDDLEBURY,  VERMONT. 


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